The Charlotte Hornets are eager to keep their momentum going, and much of their success depends on the players available for the game.
A nearly full roster will be crucial when the Hornets host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night.
“There’s a lot of talk about just trying to keep our foot on the gas and not let up,” said Hornets coach Charles Lee.
The Lakers are coming off a 118-108 win against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday and are on a three-game winning streak, their first in a month. The Hornets have won four of their last six games.
Charlotte recently saw some changes in its roster, with Miles Bridges, LaMelo Ball, and Seth Curry all returning for Saturday’s 123-92 win against the New Orleans Pelicans, after missing a loss to the Portland Trail Blazers the night before due to injuries.
Center Mark Williams missed the Pelicans game because of foot soreness.
While things are looking positive, there’s no certainty about what the injury report will say heading into Monday’s game.
Ball, the team’s leading scorer with 28.9 points per game, has been Charlotte’s top scorer in six of their past nine games, even though he missed one of those games. His impact is huge when he’s on the court.
“We have asked him to play a little bit faster,” Lee said. “Try to play with more pace. Our attack guy needs to be more aggressive to try to flatten the defense and put us in more advantage situations and he has flourished in that environment.”
Anthony Davis leads the Lakers with 25.9 points and 11.9 rebounds. He played one of his best games of the season on Saturday against the Warriors, scoring 36 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.
Davis and LeBron James (23.7 points, 9.0 assists) are the main stars for the Lakers, but the team relies on other players as well. Jared Vanderbilt, who was dealing with a knee injury, made his season debut on Saturday. He contributed four rebounds, two points, and two assists in 12 minutes.
“Vando was awesome, did all the things that we need him to do,” said Lakers coach JJ Redick. “I have a strong sense that he has been sandbagging over the last three weeks (at practice) just in terms of his intensity level… We have not seen that in the gym, and it looked like the Vando that we know.”
Vanderbilt’s energy will be helpful in away games.
“He plays hard every single possession,” said teammate Austin Reaves. “He’s going to give us second-chance opportunities. We’re going to get more steals with him out there because he’s so active.”
The Lakers ended a three-game road losing streak on Saturday. The game in Charlotte is the start of a stretch of four games in six nights on the East Coast.
Charlotte has gone 1-1 so far on a nine-game homestand that continues until February 7. The easy victory over New Orleans on Saturday was a rare chance for the team to dominate from start to finish.
“Our intensity level, our focus, didn’t waver,” Lee said.
Without Williams, the Hornets got strong contributions from Moussa Diabate, who grabbed 13 rebounds off the bench. It also gave DaQuan Jeffries an opportunity to play 27 minutes, scoring six points and grabbing seven rebounds.
The Hornets tied a franchise record by having nine players hit at least one 3-pointer. They made 21 total 3-pointers, shooting 42% from beyond the arc.
“We just put the work in,” Bridges said. “Everybody is playing with confidence. As long as we do that, we’ll give ourselves a chance every day.”
